Apparatus for applying air and vapor to the face and hair



R. H. DUNCANSON APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AIR AND VAPOR TO THE FACE AND HAIR Filed Feb. 20, 1968 Feb. 17, 1970 6 Sheets-Sheet' 1 l NVENTOR.

' Feb. 17, 1970 R. H.' DUNCANSON 3,495,343

v APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AIR AND VAPOR TO THE FACE AND HAIR Filed Feb. 20, 1968 e Sheets-Sheet 2 IINVENTOR'.

Feb. 17, 1970 R. H. DUNCANSON APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AIR AND VAPOR TO THE FACE AND HAIR A 6 Sheets Shee t 5 Filed Feb. 20, 1968 ATTORNEY Feb. 17 1970 R. H. DUNCANSON APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AIR AND VAPOR TO THE FACE AND HAIR Filed Feb. 20, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1970 R. H. DUNCANSON ,3

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AIR AND VAPOR To THE FACE AND HAIR Filed Feb. 20, 1968 1 e Sheets-Sheet s, O Q h.

Q g k R Q. Q INVENTOR.

.4 Trap/v5 FIGS Feb. 17, 1970 H, pu c oN 3,495,343

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING AIR AND VAPOR TO THE FACE 'AND HAIR Filed Feb. 20, 1968 at e 6 Sheets-She 1312 I United States Patent Office US. C]. 3472 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for applying air and vapor to the face and hair which, by a system of branched ducting, affords novel selectivity in operation. An electrode water heater having means for controlling the water feed stream to decrease its electrical conductivity as proof against electrical hazard.

This invention relates to apparatus for applying air and vapor to the hair and face which is efficient, safe from electrical hazard, and affords with facility the desired selectivity in operation.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention, a hot air conduit leads from a hot air supply to a hair drying hood to conduct hot air thereto, and a valved vapor conduit leads from a water heater to an outlet for discharging vapor to the face. The vapor conduit has a branch, between the water heater and the valve, which leads into the hot air conduit in such a way that the air pressure in the air conduit governs the flow of hot air and vapor selectively to the hood and to the facial outlet. The apparatus is adapted for further selectivity in operation, as will appear.

Appliances for use in the home which heat water by spaced immersed electrodes present the hazard of electric shock if the user inadvertently plugs in the heater before filling and then touches the appliance and a conductor, such as a faucet, to include the body in a circuit which is closed through the conducting water stream to ground. My invention seeks to minimize that hazard by assuring such discontinuity of the water feed stream that its electrical conductivity is decreased to a safe limit.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view closed portable position;

FIG. 2 shows the apparatus as it is being set up;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view, partly in section, showing the apparatus in use;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section,further enlarged, on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section, further enlarged, on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section on the line 77 of FIG. 6';

FIG. 7a is a vertical section corresponding to FIG. 7 but on smaller scale and showing the facial outlet in operation;

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of the facial outlet connection;

FIG. 9 is a detail receptable;

FIG. 10 is a detail vertical section on of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a detail vertical section, partly in elevation, showing the facial outlet connection of FIG. 8 in place;

FIG. 11a is a detail horizontal section on the line 11w- 11a of FIG. 11;

FIG. 11b is a detail elevation on the line 1lb-11b of FIG. 11a;

showing my apparatus in plan view of the water filling the line '1010 3,495,343 Patented Feb. 17, 1970 FIG. 12 is a detail vertical section showing the drainage of water from the heater by tilting the apparatus with the Water outlet tube directed downwardly;

FIG. 13 is a detail vertical elevatiton of the doors closing the vapor outlet from the air duct at its junction with the hood; and

FIG. 13a is a detail vertical section on the line 13a-- 13a of FIG. 13.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the apparatus, which in form may resemble any conventional portable hair dryer, has a base housing 2, the upper platform 4 of which supports a hot air conduit 6 leading from the base housing 2 to the hair drying hood 8, which it supports. The hood closes on the base housing 2 as a cover, enclosing the conduit '6, for which purpose the hood may be detachable from the conduit 6, suitably hinged to the base cover to fold down on it or, as in the form shown, the conduit may be pivoted at one end 10 to the hood and at its opposite end 11 to an extension of the platform 4 of the base housing 2, so that the dryer may be folded without detaching the hood from the duct "6. A suitable latch (not shown) holds the hood in the drying attitude of FIG. 3 when moved into that position from its position of FIG. 2.

The hood has an inner shell 12 spaced from the cover 14 to afford a manifold chamber 16 with which duct 6 communicates for distribution of the air to the perforations 18 formed in the shell 12. The perforations are of a size conventional for hair dryers of the professional type designed to issue pencil-like streams of drying air to the hair.

Hot air is supplied by blower 20 (FIG. 5) driven by motor 22 connected by a circuit, not shown through adjusting switch 24 driving the blower at selected speeds. Air is sucked in through slots 26 extending vertically in the outer wall of the base housing, thereby avoiding ob struction by towels and the like inadvertently placed on the platform 4. The air is blown over a heater 30 and thence upwardly and through the openings 32, and the conduit 6, as indicated by arrows, to the manifold chamber 16 and to the hair.

The parts described may be molded of plastic and may be conventional.

At 40 (FIG. 7) is a boiler adapted to receive a supply of water 42 and containing a pair of spaced electrodes 44, 46, which will be immersed when water is filled to the proper level, and are connected by a circuit, not shown, to an electric source. The boiler is suitably mounted to depend from plastic framing 47, which is supported above the base closure 48 by posts 41 and 43 (FIG. 7a), secured, as by screws 41a, to the framing. In this way the boiler is suspended above the base closure 48 and any water that may accumulate by spillage thereon, to insure against electrical conductivity through such spillage; the metal screws 41a are inaccessible to inadvertent bodily contant, as preferably are all other such fastenings used.

At 50 (FIGS. 7, 9, and 10) is a water filling trough, having side walls 51, into which water is poured and from which it flows into the apparatus through the orifice 52. Vertically below the orifice 52 is a receptacle 54 (FIG. 6) having side Walls 53 which enclose a floor 55 grooved at 56 to form a chute confined by the side walls 58 and terminating at a discharge end 60 vertically above the boiler 40. A pronounced fillet 57 in receptacle 54 is presented to the water entering from orifice 52. The trough 50 has a capacity to receive an adequate supply of water for one use of the apparatus when filled. The diameter of orifice 52 is small so that the rate of drainage therethrough is low, preferably to form discrete droplets, and to accomplishthis there may be employed more than one orifice emptying trough 50 into the chute receptacle 54.

The floor of the receptacle 54 is wide compared to the diameter of orifice 52, and the capacity of the receptacle to convey water is greater than the capacity of the orifice to admit water to the receptacle. As the resultof the downward slope of the chute, the rate of flow preferably increases so that the flow spreads lengthwise, thus reducing the average cross-sectional area and increasing the resistance.

The acceleration of the water by gravity during the fall from orifice 52 reduces conductivity as some separation of water into droplets occurs and more so if a number of orifices are used; and further discontinuity results as'the water strikes and deflects from the curved internal fillet 57 of receptacle 54. Groove 56 forms a pouring lip for shaping the water flow so it falls freely at end 60. From end 60 the force of gravity further accelerates and separates the water into drops before the water contacts the electrically charged surfaces of electrodes 44 and 46. Thus, the apparatus assures maximum electrical resistance to the leakage of current along the water path.

The boiler has a central outlet 70 communicating with a vapor conduit 72 which branches into a vertical outlet 74 and a horizontal enclosed channel 76. Egress of vapor from channel 76 is through valve 78 spring pressed to closed position by compression spring 80 interposed between a support 82 formed in the framing 47 and a circular protrusion 84 in the valve plate 78 in which the spring seats. When closed, the valve blocks passage of vapor from channel 76 to the outlet 86 by pressing against its lower marginal edge. The inner diameter of the outlet 86 is greater than the diameter of the protuberance 84 to afford an annular space 88 therebetween. A tube attachment 90 is of a diameter and side wall thickness to be received in the annular space 88 when pushed into the outlet 86 to depress valve 78 against spring 80, after which the attachment is rotated to lock the valve in open position by a bayonet joint, as shown in FIG. 11. The bayonet joint, detailed in FIGS. 11a and 11b, consists of opposite protuberances 92 on the tube 90 working in L-shaped slots 94 in the wall of outlet 86, as will be understood. Fitting 90 is attached to a flexible tube 96 (FIG. 3) leading to a plastic face mask 98.

A boiler drainage tube 100 (FIG. 12) of the same diameter as the fitting 90 may be similarly locked in place to drain the boiler of water.

Steam generated by the boiler 40 may also flow upwardly through the branch 72 whence it enters the hot air duct 6 and flows upwardly to the hair drying hood 8. Vapor admission gates or closures 102 and 104 (FIGS. 13 and 13a) are pivotally mounted at their bottom edges 105, 106 on the inside wall of the duct 6 just below the upper hinge 10 and when open expose orifices 108 through which the vapor may pass upwardly, to fill the inside of the hood 12, when the gates are open, to penetrate the hair.

At the exit end of the branch 72, a deflecting shield 110 (FIGS. and 7) is provided which directs the flow of vapor into the center of duct 6 and along the duct (see FIG. 5). It is preferably of metal to absorb heat from the rising steam to convert it to vapor of lower temperature.

In the upper covering wall of the boiler (FIG. 7) is an orifice 112 having a cover 114 pivoted at 116 to the top of the boiler. When the apparatus is in the horizontal position shown in FIG. 7, the cover 114 rests by its own weight to close the outlet 112, thereby directing the steam out of the center outlet 70. In draining the boiler h-e oulet drain 100 (FIG. 12) is inserted to lock the valve 78 in its open position and the apparatus is tilted to its position shown, so that the water can run downwardly from the boiler through the downwardly inclined outlet 100. In this attitude, the cover 114 swings open to allow the water to drain out as indicated. Also the electrodes 44 and 46 are disposed above and out of electrical contact with the water being drained.

In operation, the apparatus will be found to be exceptionally flexible in its selectivity of performance with a minimum of manual controls. The apparatus may function as a conventional hair dryer by turning on the blower at desired speed with the gates 102, 104 and valve 78 closed and the boiler 40 empty. The apertures 18 in the hood, like those in a professional dryer, are of a size to direct to the hair jets of air at a velocity to dry the hair with optimum efiiciency and to that end are smaller than could accommodate vapor if sought to be introduced by mere convention. If the user wishes to apply vapor to the hair, the boiler is filled with water, thus automatically generating steam when the current is on, which passes as cooled vapor into the air duct 6. With the motor turned off and the gates 102, 104 open (valve 78 being closed), the vapor will rise of its own accord and issue through orifices 108 to rise in and fill the hood. The vapor can be forced to the hair with streams of hot air by closing the gates 102, 104 and starting the blower. After a suitable time, the water will be depleted in the boiler and hot, dry air will be admitted to the hair automaticaly without any attention by the user. This is an effective way to set the hair on rollers, and for that purpose, no care need be taken to saturate the tresses with water prior to winding. To apply vapor to the face while drying the hair, the blower is started after the hose fitting is inserted to open valve 78, the gates 102, 104 now being closed. The heated air, entering the base of duct 6, will in major proportion be forced into the hood and through the perforations 18. Due to the positive pressure of the air above the outlet 74, escape of vapor upwardly into the duct 6 and to the hair will be inhibited and a portion of the air will flow downwardly through outlet 74 to mix with and force the vapor along duct 76 to the facial outlet. By the time the vapor reaches the face, it is sufiiciently cool to avoid burning the skin, since the boiler generates steam slowly and the conduits to the facial outlet have a cooling effect. Yet condensation is minimized by the action of the air stream conveying the vapor to the face.

My invention alfords a safeguard, against the hazard of electric shock, which is exceptional for apparatus of the type using an electrode water heater, so that it is entirely safe for use by women in the home. The resistance through the discrete particles of the water feed stream is of the order of many thousands of ohms. By enabling the use with safety of an electrode-type boiler, I reduce the cost of manufacture and afford an automatic action as above described. Servicing is facilitated by the readiness with which accumulated water-soluble minerals may be flushed away.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for applying vapor and hot air to the hair and face, a blower anda heater to provide a source of hot air, a water heater for generating steam, a hair drying hood, opening outwardly to receive a persons head, having a plurality of perforations of predetermined size for directing streams of air to the hair and at least one orifice of a size larger than said perforations for admitting vapor to the hair, an outlet for discharging vapor to the face, a hot air conduit leading from the hot air source to the hood perforations to conduct hot air thereto and communicating with said orifice, a vapor conduit leading from said water heater to said facial outlet, a valve for openingand closing said vapor conduit, a branch in said vapor conduit, between the water heater and valve, leading into said hot air conduit, whereby vapor may be conducted to said hot air conduits and thence to said orifice and said perforations, and whereby when said valve is open and said blower is on, air flowing through said conduit to the hood perforations is in part diverted through said branch to flow with the vapor to said facial outlet.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said orifice is located in proximity to the hood opening so that, when the hood opening is directed downwardly, vapor issuing through the orifice will rise within the hood to encompass the hair.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said orifice has a closure movable to open and close said orifice selectively to admit vapor to the hair and to obstruct passage therethrough of hot dry air.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the water heater is of the type having a container and spaced electrodes in the container for heating water by passing current from one electrode to the other through the water and in which the means for filling the container comprises a plurality of successive conduits from one to another of which the water falls freely by gravity whereby discontinuity is imparted to the stream to enhance its resistance to the passage of electric current therethrough.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which the water heater is of the type having a container and spaced electrodes in the container for heating water by passing current from one electrode to the other through the water 6 and in which the means for filling the container comprises a receptacle having a downwardly sloping floor with an upper inlet end and terminating in a lower discharge end disposed over the container a predetermined distance above the electrodes, a trough having an orifice spaced a predetermined distance vertically above the inlet end of the receptacle, the arrangement being such that water introduced to the trough will flow through its orifice into the receptacle and thence downwardly to fall from the discharge end of the receptacle into the container, whereby discontinuity is imparted to the stream to enhance its resistance to the passage of electric current therethrough.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/ 1935 Martin.

9/ 1956 Leclabart. 10/ 1961 Ranzi.

8/ 1966 Niemiec et a1.

US. Cl. X.R. 34-98 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,495,343 February 17, 1970 Robert H. Duncanson It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 55, "contant" should read contact Column 3, line 74, "he" should read the Column 4, line 18, "convention" should read convection line 75, "conduits" should read conduit Signed and sealed this 15th day of December 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR. Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

